Bowie technique videos on YouTube?

**lklawson** · Posted On: 9/08/2009 8:30am

Originally Posted by slower

It is interesting that no one studying Bowie is posting YouTube demonstrations.

You'd want to avoid them anyway unless someone who knew what they were doing vetted the vid.

Same as with most other stuff on Youtube. There's a lot of really good stuff there and a lot of... ahem...

Bowie is said to be last evolution of edged weapon combat before firearms became the norm. I'd think some Wester M.A.'ers would be into it. As all sorts of other Western M.A.s are online.

Well of course there's a lot of WMA folks studying Bowie knife. But "a lot" is a relative term. WMA is the little sister in terms of popularity and general availability. Every street corner has a TKD studio and every neighborhood has a BJJ or MMA school now. But you have to look hard to find WMA clubs and, of those, only so many are going to be interested in 19th Century English/American Martial Arts.

FWIW, that's the primary emphasis of my club and the primary blade "art" there is the Bowie knife.

Where are you located at? Maybe I know someone nearby. (or maybe not)

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

**lklawson** · Posted On: 9/08/2009 8:34am

Originally Posted by CodosDePiedra

What do you think of James Keating's material?

I don't know if his new material is any different from his old, however I've seen his old Bowie vids and they're decent material. Lots of good stuff. He uses a fairly eclectic approach to technique and strategy, drawing from both western and asian traditions.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

**DdlR** · Posted On: 9/08/2009 8:34am

19th c. social morality might have played a part in the (apparent) lack of knife-fighting material committed to print. Other than "blade cultures" like Spain, that produced occasional detailed works on codified knife fencing/dueling methods, knife fighting was widely regarded as being illegal and morally obscene. Thus, perhaps, a book on that subject was less likely to be a sound investment for publishers.

IMO if any such material was produced in the USA during this period, it would most likely have been privately and even secretly printed.

**lklawson** · Posted On: 9/08/2009 8:43am

Originally Posted by willaume

Another avenue for you is may be to have a butcher at some Messer or barquemar/baselard video
A Messer is a very large knife from medieval Europe (called fashion in the uk).

Yeah, in the same way that a 26" Machete is "a very large knife."

A Messer is a sword. The word translates "knife" but in this case, it's a sword. If you took a messer and ground the spine down, removing the clip point, and made the whole spine into an edge, you'd call it an Arming Sword.

It shape is very Bowie like.

There are some elements of Messer work which are applicable to the Bowie. But you want to be careful in attempting to apply it. Not everything transitions. Not by a longshot. But some does and it's good stuff.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk